Cracksman returned to his brilliant best with a stunning defeat of Crystal Ocean in the £1,300,000 Gr1 QIPCO Champion Stakes on Saturday, his six-length winning margin over the King George runner-up just a length short of the distance by which he beat Poet’s Word 12 months earlier.
The mighty Cracksman
He was the first horse since his sire Frankel to win at successive QIPCO British Champions Days and a third winner of the afternoon for John Gosden and second for Frankie Dettori.
He now retires to stud the winner of eight of his 12 races, four of them at the top level, and more than £2.7m.
Dettori, for whom it was a second victory of the day, following Stradivarius’ win in the Gr2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup, said: “That is the old Cracksman back…he felt fantastic! What a horse he is – I love him dearly.
“Full credit to the owners and John for being patient. They were not tempted to run on firm ground and got the reward today.
Armchair ride for Frankie Dettori
“He did it on his own. The blinkers worked and he was concentrating. I kept him away from Rhododendron, the filly, and even in the first bit of the race I knew. It came good for me at the three-furlong pole and I knew we were in business. You know when you are going twice as fast as the others, and you have to celebrate.”
Gosden said: “It’s super to have him back. Obviously, he likes to get his toe in. He’s by Frankel out of a Pivotal mare and while Frankel won well on any ground a Pivotal mare is a bit of a clue.
“He won the Prix Ganay in explosive style and I don’t think he was quite the same after that – I think a few things were bothering him. Obviously, he got very distracted at Royal Ascot by the girls coming back from the Windsor Forest and then we went for the King George, where it was too firm, and the Juddmonte [non-runner for the same reason] then packed in and freshened him up to come here, where he was back to his best.
John Gosden – blinker strike
“I’m a great believer in putting a little semi blinker on and have had a lot of luck with it down the years, having picked up the trick in America and most horses race in blinkers there. I can tell you the great Secretariat and Northern Dancer raced in blinkers. I don’t have a prejudice against them. Sometimes you need to focus their minds.
“When Cracksman is in the zone, he is a very good horse. I would think it is quite likely he will go to stud as he is a four-year-old turning five. He is Frankel’s best son and it is lovely to see him back with a bang.”
